Triple Break Point

In tennis language, when a server loses a game their opponent has “broken” their serve. So anytime you’re one point away from winning a game while your opponent serves, you have a break point. A break point occurs when the game score is 0-40, 15-40, 30-40 or when the returner has the advantage in a deuce game. A 0-40 score is known as “triple break point” because you must only win one of the next three points to win the game, while a 15-40 score is referred to as “double break point”.

Example:

If Player A is serving during a game and Player B has the chance of winning the game if they win the next point, Player B has a break point (In other words, Player B has a chance to break Player A’s service).

Player B has a triple break point when Player A is serving with a 0-40 score. Or during a doubles game played through the no-ad system, if the game is 15-40 (0-40 in the doubles example would mean a quadruple break point).

Why is that?

Because Player B has a chance to break Player A’s serve in the next point, but even if they can’t accomplish that, the score will be 15-40, giving another chance to Player B in the next point. Again, if Player B is not successful, the score will be 30-40, leaving Player B with their last break point. So, when the score is 0-40, Player B has up to 3 chances to win the game.

The difference in the doubles match with no-ad example is that when the game is tied at 40-40 (deuce), the next point must end the game, because there is no advantage, which gives an extra break point for the receiving double.